There was a Madonna mash-up on Fausto Puglisi’s soundtrack. Her Madgesty wore a Puglisi-designed cape of almost papal pomp and circumstance on her recent tour—red, hooded, billowing, with scrollwork down the front. The cape was a very loose reference at his show tonight; if you knew what to look for, you could spot similar scrolling details on a long white dress with slits up both thighs, on the sleeves of an oversized white Perfecto, and decorating the front of a sweatshirt dress. Of course, this being a Fausto show, there was a good deal more going on, but the key to the collection just might be in the intentions behind that above-mentioned sweatshirt.

Several years into his run, Puglisi’s challenge is figuring out how to inject the everyday into an aesthetic that is by and large performative—see that Madonna cloak. He took several concrete steps here, starting with styling choices like the models’ street-ready combat and cowboy boots, and a couple of NYC pompom beanies. Clothes-wise, Puglisi tried out knits, a category he hasn’t much explored, and made a push into outerwear, too. In the graphic, color-blocked style he prefers, his elongated cardigans and wrap coats looked as bold as the rest of his output. Ditto the bomber with mismatched sleeves and others with his signature palm trees wrapping around the elbows or splashed across the back. The designer used jewel tones in place of his typical acid brights, but ruby red and turquoise are hardly neutrals.